Format will WIPE EVERYTHING from the specified disk, and prepare it for a fresh install.

FIXBOOT - Creates a new startup sector on the hard drive, if you are having trouble booting.

FIXMBR - Replaces the Master Boot Record on the hard drive, if you are having trouble booting.

You can also add or delete partitions, but this is the stuff of wizardry.

DISKPART - Displays a table of all hard drive partitions.

CHKDSK /R - Scans your hard drive and attempts to repair any problems found.

Microsoft recommends that you use the Recovery Console only if you are an advanced user, but I'll give you a quick rundown on some of the more common commands available here, and hopefully you'll be able to fix whatever is ailing your computer. the Recovery Console! Can You Handle This Much Power? Faster than a speeding virus, more powerful than a trojan horse, and able to leap tall partitions in a single bound, it's.

But it has powers far beyond those of mortal men. What you'll see next is not very exciting - just a black and white screen, similar to the DOS prompt of years gone by.

Enter '1' and then supply your Administrator password. Next, you'll see a prompt to enter a number corresponding to the Windows XP installation that you need to repair. After a few minutes, you'll see a prompt to press the R key to start the Recovery Console. Otherwise it may try to boot from the hard drive.

(Don't have a Windows Setup disk? Skip this section and look below.) If you are prompted to press a key to start the computer from CDROM, do so quickly. We'll cover that later on in this article, but for now, restart your computer with the Windows XP Setup disk in the CDROM drive. Your friend who told you to do it by selecting an option during startup has apparently installed Recovery Console on his hard drive, which makes that option appear at boot time. There are two ways to start the Recovery Console. But starting the Recovery Console is a bit mysterious, if you've never done it before. In many cases, the Windows XP Recovery Console can help you fix the problem. Sometimes viruses, spyware or random cosmic rays will attack your computer, leaving you unable to even start Windows.

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